WINDER, Ga. (AP) — On Tuesday, a lawyer mentioned that the teenager charged with the fatal shooting of four individuals at Georgia’s Apalachee High School is leaning towards entering a guilty plea.
During a brief court session, defense attorney Alfonso D. Kraft informed Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nick Primm that Colt Gray might be prepared for a plea hearing in October. Kraft explained that a psychologist is expected to evaluate Gray soon, suggesting that a plea hearing could proceed once the psychologist’s report is complete.
“We should be good to go,” Kraft said.
The tragic event on September 4 resulted in the deaths of teachers Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, along with students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both aged 14. Additionally, another teacher and eight students suffered injuries, with seven of the students being shot.
Colt Gray, then 14, was indicted on a total of 55 counts, including murder in the deaths of four people and 25 counts of aggravated assault. Grand jurors formally charged his father, Colin Gray, with 29 counts, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Both also face multiple counts of cruelty to children.
Colt Gray was charged as an adult. Both initially pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors said in court Tuesday they were looking to accept a non-negotiated plea, which would mean they would not recommend a lower sentence. The key issue in any plea is likely to be whether Gray is sentenced to life without parole or will get a chance at later parole. As a juvenile, he cannot be sentenced to death.
Primm told Kraft and prosecutors to work out a date after the scheduled September trial of Colin Gray.
“I think the October timing works well because Colin Gray’s trial is scheduled in September,” Primm said, saying a later plea would avoid pretrial publicity that could be taint the ability to find unbiased jurors in Colin Gray’s case.
Primm in April ordered that jurors in Colin Gray’s trial would not be drawn from Barrow County, granting a rare change of venue.
Colt Gray appeared by video Tuesday from a juvenile detention center where he is being held.
Relatives of Aspinwall said after the hearing they want a sentence of life without parole for Gray.
“If he wants to plead guilty it would be a better route for everybody, get it behind us,” said Kevin Zink, Aspinwall’s father-in law. “I’d like to see it end. The sooner it ends, the better for all of us.”
Zink said District Attorney Brad Smith had told relatives he would not accept a lighter sentence in exchange for a guilty plea.
Richard Aspinwall Sr., Ricky’s father, said he might favor a trial to make an example of Gray.
“Maybe it’ll make other people think twice about trying to pull something.” Aspinwall said.
Investigators have testified that Colt Gray carried a semiautomatic assault-style rifle given to him by his father onto the school bus with the barrel wrapped in a poster board. They say the boy left his second-period class and emerged from a bathroom with the rifle, shooting people in a classroom and hallway.
Investigators have said the teenager carefully plotted the shooting at the 1,900-student high school northeast of Atlanta. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent testified that the boy left a notebook in his classroom with step-by-step instructions and a diagram to prepare for the assault, including an estimate that he could kill as many as 26 people and wound as many as 13 others.
Colt and Colin Gray were interviewed about an online threat linked to Colt Gray in May 2023. Colt Gray denied making the threat at the time. He skipped eighth grade, enrolled as a freshman at Apalachee after the academic year began, and then skipped multiple days of school.
Family members had been seeking psychological help for Colt Gray before the shooting, but it appears he never saw a counselor.
Colt’s mother, Marcee Gray, who lives separately, told investigators that she had argued with Colin Gray in August, asking him to secure his guns and restrict Colt’s access. Instead, over time, he bought the boy ammunition, a gun sight and other shooting accessories, records show.
Colt Gray even created a “shrine” to school shooters over his home computer, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Agent Kelsey Ward said in court.
